In the case that a communication device communicates with other communication devices or with networks and the communication device cannot directly connect with them, then a predetermined relay device can be utilized.
Suppose that a communication device is available, wherein it equips with only a short range wireless communication function (henceforth, referred to as “short range wireless communication device”) such as a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) or the like which conforms to IEEE 802.11 standard which the IEEE-802 LAN/MAN Standards Committee of IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) standardized. In order to connect the short range wireless communication device with a network such as an Internet and the like, communications need to be relayed at a base station such as a wireless LAN access point or the like. In other words, in order to connect the short range wireless communication device with a wide area network, a predetermined relay device is required.
An example of the relay device which is applicable to the above-mentioned object includes a communication device having both a function of connecting with a wide area wireless network such as a mobile phone network, and a function of communicating with a wireless LAN. A specific example of the relay device includes so-called a “dual-mode mobile phone terminal”, which is a mobile phone and can concurrently connects with the mobile phone network and with a wireless LAN communication device. When the relay device relays the communications, a communication device having only a wireless LAN communication function (henceforth, referred to as “wireless LAN communication device”) can be connected with the wide area network. That is, by using a dual-mode mobile terminal as the relay device, the wireless LAN communication device can be connected with the wide area network such as the Internet, the mobile phone network and the like. Therefore, by carrying around this kind of the relay device, as far as the wireless LAN communication device may exist within a range of the mobile phone network, the wireless LAN communication device can be connected with the wide area network.
Some dual-mode mobile phone terminals can operate not only as the relay device and the mobile phone but also as a terminal accessible to the Internet. That is, because some kinds of dual-mode mobile phone terminal have embedded client software including a mailer and a web browser, it can be used for reading and writing a mail and can browse webs. In this way, the dual-mode mobile terminal can receive services from the Internet. At the same time, the dual-mode mobile terminal can relay communications of the Internet by connecting with an external wireless LAN communication device via a wireless LAN. Accordingly, the external wireless LAN communication device can receive services from the Internet.
Note that, a relay function of the dual-mode mobile phone terminal includes only relaying communications of an external communication device. The functions which the dual-mode mobile phone terminal includes and the functions which the external communication device includes are completely separated, and there are no relations among them. For example, even in the case that both the dual-mode mobile phone terminal and the external device have the web browser function, these browser functions are not interlocked. Therefore, even though the external device and the dual-mode mobile phone terminal access the same website, a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) has to be inputted independently in the respective devices.
Incidentally, as the dual-mode mobile phone terminal mentioned above, a dual communication device having both a communication terminal function and the relay function can acquire information which the external communication device sends and receives when it relays the communications of the external communication device as the relay device. Accordingly, by storing the information, the information can be utilized in the case of operating as the communication terminal. For example, in the case that an address and an URL or the like of the destination which the external communication device transmitted are utilized when the dual communication device communicates as the communication terminal, the address and the URL of the destination does not need to be designated once again. In this way, for the dual communication device, in the case that the acquired information while operating as the relay device can be utilized for the communications as the communication terminal, convenience is remarkably improved.
Information which a user input and can improve convenience in the case of being utilized for future communications include such as an ID (IDentification) and a password in addition to an address and a URL or the like.
Further, in addition to the information which the user inputs directly, use of an access history of web browsers, which is a selection history of the connected destination by the user, is also effectively utilized. Moreover, cookies which are often used in the web browser are also effectively utilized. The cookie is information transmitted from a server to a terminal and stored in the terminal, and the server can use it, in order to perform a predetermined confirmation in the case of accessing to the same server. Accordingly, by utilizing the cookies in addition to the URLs, the relay device can access equally with the external communication device. In addition, in the case that it stores information such as session identification information (i.e. session ID) for identifying communications between the external communication device and the web server, it can also utilize the information. That is, the relay device can succeed the session and continue the communications on behalf of the external communication device by using the stored session ID.
As an example, a relay device which relays data communications between an electronic apparatus and a communication device is disclosed in the Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-278860 (henceforth, referred to as “the patent document 1”). The relay device disclosed in the patent document 1 receives an access request from the electronic apparatus, and relays the communications between the electronic device and the communication device.
In addition, a communication adapter for a mobile phone game machine which can connect a portable game machine with a provider terminal device is disclosed in the Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-237984 (henceforth, referred to as “the patent document 2”). The communication adapter disclosed in the patent document 2 memorizes connecting destination information at a time when the portable game machine communicates with the provider terminal device. The portable game machine can access the desired connecting destination using the connecting destination information.